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Senate Hearing on Toxic Chemicals (they heard us!)

Did you hear about Senate committee hearing at the end of July? It was kind of a big deal. Why?

For years environmental health activists, parents, bloggers, journalists, film-makers and scientists have been sounding the alarm about the over 80,000 untested chemicals found in your home, products, schools and child care centers--- and the harmful affects they have on our bodies, especially our children. We've seen exponential increases in learning difficulties, cancer, developmental delays, reproductive system problems, obesity, early puberty, and other problems. Many of these conditions have been linked to the cocktail of chemicals we are exposed to on a daily basis, such as BPA, phthalates, parabens, asbestos, lead, chromium, flame retardants, and others.

No one listened (okay, maybe a few brave leaders did). But now? They are really listening.

The Senate Environmental and Public Works committee held a hearing called Strengthening Public Health Protections by Addressing Toxic Chemical Threats on July 31st. They heard from researchers, advocates, parents, and business representatives about our lack of regulation and the life-altering harm it is having on Americans.

We let them know that parents are paying close attention and want to protect their families from harmful toxic chemicals. MomsRising along with our coalition partners put out a call to members to watch the hearing and write about it on Twitter. And they showed up in droves, adding the highlights of the hearing, and the message: we care, we are watching, and we expect you to act to protect public health.

The twitter chat reached an astounding 500,000 people directly and had over 7.3 million impressions. #Saferchemicals trended on Twitter that day-- right after the promoted Smurf movie! Many of these tweets were from MomsRising members who were showing up, speaking out, and demanding action on chemical reform. Safer Chemicals, The Breast Cancer Fund, Environmental Working Group, Washington Toxics, and many other fantastic organizations tweeted, organized, testified, and coordinated this massive response. We couldn't be more proud to be part of this movement for children's health.

Make your voice heard here, and we'll keep you up to date on the next chance to show leaders we are watching and demand that they protect children, families, and vulnerable populations from toxic chemicals.

The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of MomsRising.org.

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